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Feb 18, 2014

Coat: Pimkie, pants: Isabel Marantt x H&M, shoes: Marc Fisher,

It's been a year since I moved from Spanish Harlem down to the East Village. And even after all this time my apartment is still not fully decorated the way I want, it's defiantly a work in progress, but that's what makes it so fun! I don't think I could have thought of a better company to partner up with when it comes to home decor. Hunters Alley comes from the team behind One Kings Lane, which has always been the site I went to when I wanted a vintage touch without paying crazy prices, truly something for everyone.
It's a new kind of marketplace community, connecting shoppers and sellers. The main thing I love about the site is the easy navigation the listings are edited so that shoppers are given only the best to choose from the amazing photography and the fact that it's more than just a site, it's also a place for design lovers to meet!
I picked out these glasses off the site, I love how cheerful the colors are, I can't wait to use them this summer on a picnic. The little piggy was another find of mine, as a kid my father would always buy me piggy banks that I would literally smash because I had no self control...I don't see myself smashing this one anytime soon. Haha.

To enter is simple:

We all have our favorite vintage find, leave a comment of what your best vintage find is to date!

53
comments:

A couple years ago I had an internship with an architect who was remodeling the house of his deceased mother. While it was supposed to be centered around the architectural renovation, he capitalized on the free labor and I was tasked with doing all the things he never got around to doing. I was burdened with the project of sorting through all of her old clothes and books. While going through the clothing was creepy (she hung each outfit together on a hanger - skirt, blouse, jacket, tights, something earrings...), I loved leafing through her old books in the library. I came across an old copy of Vogue's Book of Etiquette. Though it wasn't relevant to social situations anymore, I loved looking through it. I almost considered asking the architect if I could have it, but decided it would be too uncomfortable. A couple years later I was in a used book sale and found a copy for $3! I snatched it up and it now has a prominent place on my bookshelf! I still pick it up and leaf through it sometimes.

My love of inheriting a stranger's treasures began when I was a wee girl rummaging through my neighbor's abandoned garage (with their consent) and finding the most opulent "vase" that I later found out was no vase at all, but an urn. (Thanks, mom, for that detail.) Anyway, soon after I discovered flea markets and thrift stores... Even yard sales! All these magical places that housed both scuffed-up penny loafers and the occasional well-priced handsome mink coat satisfied my sense of adventure (and need to shop). Regardless of my vast array of trinkets and clothes and furniture and books, my can't-live-without find is a 99 cent Polaroid 600 camera that did indeed WORK. This camera was purchased right on the cusp of The Impossible Project's success in reintroducing beautiful instant film. I ordered mine, and hundreds of images later, I have added to the camera collection with land cams and different makes. I have Polaroids that spill from my books, journal, that hang on my mirror, and that I've stuffed in shirt pockets. Having a tactile memory with pretty pastel colors and the intrigue of never knowing quite how an image will develop is a simple joy that has become a significant part of life for me. So thank you, Goodwill of Prattville Alabama. And thank you previous owner... It will have a forever home.

I run an online vintage shop, so I am always picking a new favorite vintage find! A longtime standing favorite though is a midi length cream colored dress with knife pleats and little pearls which I just can't bring myself to sell!Awesome giveaway, fingers crossed! :)xo Hannahhannahmeyer17(at)gmail(dot)com

My mom emigrated to America from China about 30 years ago. She could not afford new clothes or anything other than the essentials: food, rent, tuition. Her cousin, however, has been living in America for a while and they were financially stable. Every two years or so she would clean out her closet and give her clothes and shoes to my mom. My mom has kept all these items until today and I realized, why do I need to go to a thrift store when my mother's closet is full of old vintage clothes with wicked prints and patterns. Today, I wore this wool maroon grandma sweater with a bunch of orange, yellow, green and purple zigzags to uni. It was it a bit itchy, but the pattern was amazing and I do love a grandma sweater. P.S. only one friend took note of my sweater - she has good taste ;)

My favourite vintage find is a Chinese hostess dress from the 1950s -- high neck, pencil skirt, like the dresses from "In the Mood for Love" -- made of robin's egg blue ostrich feathers woven in to the fabric. It was one of dozens and dozens of custom-made dresses for the first woman in Vancouver to import products from overseas. It's amazing, and I always feel so elegant when I wear it. Unfortunately, these dresses don't have much give in the middle, so I always have to be careful when sitting, but it does prevent me from eating several plates of pasta when I go out!

my best vintage sign were a set of glass punchbowl cups from the 1950s. The punchbowl cups are technically made of 2 parts: a clear glass cup with no handle, and a gold metal wrap with a handle that encases the bottom of the cup.

My dad is kind of a science/computer nerd and collects tons of globes, telescopes, and crazy old communication devices.I'd always accompany him to flea markets and thrift stores when I was younger to hunt down these pieces of junk. He recently gifted me a 1940s magnifying glass for my birthday along with a few other bits but the magnifying glass really made my little heart happy. I have to give my dad the credit for this find, but the piece completes my apartment desk perfectly, very sophisticated yet rustic. I find myself dusting it all the time and even found a vintage stand for it to stand on. I love the thing to say the least, a simple piece of my dad away from home. Love that guy

I think my favorite item I ever (almost) thrifted was a bell sleeve, fur coat from the 1940s! I was visiting Seattle, and my vegan friend that was showing me around just wouldn't allow it. Ugh, regrets!!

My favorite vintage find is a hard one to pinpoint. I love to peruse any hole in the wall shack for pieces with history. To date, I would have to say my favorite find is a typewriter from the 40s that, upon purchasing for only 5 dollars, I found contained old letters that resembled that of diary pages. A young girl was writing about her various crushes, favorite fashion/celebrity icons, and grocery lists :). Like i said, it's so hard to pick a favorite, but I am a sucker for anything with a story! love your finds!

My favorite vintage find is not actually mine but my father's. My father loved all that "brocantes" and, every week end, he used to drag me there... waking me up at 6 AM. Every week end. 6AM, winter time included! But I used to love it because it was OUR moment you know? Going out, having a coffee, a chat, hangin around, arguing with all the sellers about the prices... And just the two of us.

Anyway, when he got sick and very weak, we couldn't do it anymore and for my 20th birthday, he went to his very last brocante ever (with my mum) and found me that lovely little belly chain with a horse on it. They gave it to me for my birthday and, few months later, he passed out. So, with his hat, it is my favorite vintage find ever. Period! (Apologies for my ridiculous english! Haven't been practising for a while!)Xoxo !

best vintage find was a pair of worn [yet beautiful] Isabel Marant dicker boots in black. Were $50 or so, and I've been wearing them through for two years. Still beautiful, still my favorite shoe, and will probably always be my best vintage find!

I raided my mother's closet a few years back and found some great shoes from she was younger, going back to like the 70s. I wear them all the time and love how timeless some styles are. I also have a ton of her jewelery and accessories. Adding a necklace or hat of hers always spices up my outfit and reminds me of her!

Definitely my bicycle. It’s a blue and silver Robin Hood bike from the ‘70s. I got this bike when I first moved to a big city by myself, and had my first solo apartment. It is a very heavy bike, and took me forever to bungi cord it to my trunk and drive it home. My apartment was tiny, so the bike also doubled as laundry clothes drying rack. Lugging it up and down three flights of stairs was so tiring, but riding it around the city was amazing. I had forgotten how great it was felt to ride a bike. It was such an independent feeling, just like flying, to get myself around the city without the car. I still love and ride this bike, and it reminds me of such a special time in my life of moving a new place all alone and relearning how to ride a bike.

Mmm tough one, my heart nearly stopped when I found a vintage burgundy Delvaux backpack at a flea market for like $4 a few years ago. It was barely used, seriously barely a scratch on it. Finding it started a crazy chain of good luck for me. Since then I've always found something amazing at flea markets- from a vintage Chanel necklace to a tanned leather aviator jacket, heck even getting stuff for free. It inspired me to always dig deep (literally:) and I really think its my lucky charm!

When I was 22 and just about to move into my first apartment in Queens, I went to an estate sale in CT with some friends. The woman had excellent taste and I fell in love (of all things) with a zebra-printed tripod seat. I couldn't afford it but the daughter of the deceased woman noticed how much I was hemming and hawing over it. Turns out, it was something her Mother brought back from a trip to Sweden and was one of her most prized pieces. She let it go to me for $30 and 7 years later, it remains one of my most treasured pieces. Every time I sit on it and put on my makeup, I think of her!

I was visiting a friend in the Bay Area a couple of months ago and she took me to a massive outdoor flea market on a sunny Sunday afternoon. I was hesitant to purchase anything that I couldn't bring back to NYC with me in a carry-on, so I walked away from a beautiful decanter for my whiskey-drinking self, a modern side table, among many other finds. But not all was lost - as I was thumbing through racks of clothing, I found the loveliest creme silk kimono that I couldn't put back down. I now wear it at home every time I want to feel fabulous, because you know, that's what us ladies like to do.

My best vintage find to date is an old tea kettle just like the one my grandmother used. It's the first Corning Ware design from the 1960's and I scored at my local Habitat store for $5. Use everyday and protect with my life :D

My best vintage find is a colored glass candy dish exactly like the one my gran-gran had before she passed. She always had it filled with these little strawberry candy treats and I'd sneak one or two before dinner (and after, too). Now my candy dish is used as a jewelry catch-all, I keep my most special and often-worn pieces in it. The bright colors remind me of my gran and bring a smile every day when I'm getting ready!

I have to say- sometimes I struggle with flea markets and vintage stores because of the abundance of awesome things I see, but my overwhelming need to be thoughtful when it comes to purchases has me leave empty handed. I often look at something and want it, but wait and wait and wait to know if I "really" "really" need it. Often, I wait so long it has already been purchased and I leave wishing I had picked it up the first time I saw it. This all changed when I saw a vintage (circa 1940s) plant hanger in my local flea market. I took one look at it and knew I needed to purchase it as a gift for my wife. I had gotten her a hanging teardrop terrarium that we hadn't been able to use yet as we didn't have a way to hang it. This vintage plant base/hanger was the perfect find for our terrarium. Now my wife and I both get to enjoy it, and we always get compliments on the arrangement of it when guests come over. The perfect purchase!

The first thing that comes to mind is a wicker half moon side table that I found on the side of the road when I was a junior in high school. Even though I was still living at home, I KNEW that one day I would put it to use. And now, almost 10 years later, it has a fresh coat of silver paint and looks great in the hallway of my apartment.

A true "vintage" find that is a favorite is a small oil painting of a landscape that I picked up at a local thrift shop for all of $10. It is so beautiful.

I recently found a galvanized milk box in central Pennslyvania when I was in town for a farm wedding. It sits on my shelf as storage for my art supplies. It only cost me $10! I love the look of Hunters Alley. It's like scavenging those antique malls in Pennsylvania but without the road trip.